2012 Mendocino County year in review: Part 3

? The Redwood Valley Black Bart Parade celebrates its 50th year, full of people dressed as robbers, horses and "Pippis."

? Doug Losak, recently appointed the acting head of Mendocino County's legal department, is pulled over for speeding and cited for allegedly having a concealed gun and marijuana in his vehicle. Losak was appointed interim Mendocino County counsel after Jeanine Nadel left the job to be sworn in as a Mendocino County Superior Court judge. Losak later resigns his position and Deputy County Counsel Terri Gross is appointed.

? A Ukiah man, 21-year-old Angelo Want, is sought for allegedly shooting another man. Deputies and members of the SWAT team respond to Want's home where he leaves by a back door. Police K-9 "Dutch" chases Want, but he escapes and is seen running naked along the brush line of the Russian River.

? A fire in the Mendocino National Forest fills the Ukiah area with smoke, prompting the Mendocino Air Quality Management District to issue an alert advising people who are sensitive to air pollution to stay indoors. The fire is contained after burning more than 30,000 acres.

? Dave Furia is hired as the new promoter for the Ukiah Speedway and says he hopes to encourage parents and their kids to get involved in racing.

? Billy Norbury, the man accused of shooting and killing his neighbor, changes his plea in court from not-guilty to one of not guilty by reason of insanity.

August

? The rocket ship at Todd Grove Park has its official grand opening. Members of the Rotary Club of Ukiah, as well as the Summer Safari Day Camp, come out to celebrate the historic event.

? 40-year fire service veteran John Bartlett is named Ukiah fire chief, in addition to being acting chief of Hopland Fire and Ukiah Valley Fire District.

? Angelo Want, wanted for attempted murder, is taken into custody after the MCSO gets a tip that he is staying at a Ukiah motel.

? An overturned tanker truck spills more than 500 gallons of diesel near Ackerman Creek, on Orr Springs Road, west of Montgomery Woods. The spill is cleaned up before it reaches the creek.

? Fires break out near Ukiah, Lake County and Colusa County, burning over 7,000 acres of forest. Smoke warnings and air quality health alerts are issued and evacuations are order for the Covelo area.

? Halloween City is granted a temporary business permit to operate from Sept. 4 to Nov. 2, and temporarily employ 23 people. Local store Incognito vows to appeal the decision.

? Local psychiatrist Doug Rosoff is struck and killed while bicycling by a truck turning right from Gobbi Street onto Orchard Avenue.

September

? The Ukiah City Council approves the permit for Halloween City, despite the appeal from the owner of Incognito who says she will "go broke" if Halloween City is allowed to open again.

? MCSO K-9 "Morgan" dies at a Northern California training facility during a training exercise designed to teach the dog to sniff out narcotics.

? Thirteen family members are displaced when their Luce Avenue home catches fire. No one is injured in the fire, although one of the family's three dogs dies.

? A group of local landowners prevail in their lawsuit against the California State Water Resources Control Board over state frost protection regulations. Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Ann Moorman declares the new regulations "constitutionally void."

? Four new color-coded walking paths, designed by the Ukiah Valley Trails Group, and varying in length from the 2.1-mile Low Gap Walking Route to the 3-mile Ukiah Alleys Walking Route are completed. All the walking paths start at the Alex R. Thomas Jr. Plaza.

? Two people die in a house fire across from the Potter Valley Fire Department on Main Street in Potter Valley.

October

? A 200-acre fire near Comptche fills Ukiah with smoke. The fire, dubbed the "Flynn Fire' by CalFire, started near the Comptche Fire Department.

? A fire burns a two-story building, just south of the Coffee Critic, on North State Street, in Ukiah. Workers are inside doing carpet work when the fire starts, but no one is injured.

? The owner of the Coffee Critic decides to step down and says the business will close if it is not sold by the end of the month.

? The Norbury murder trial begins. Norbury faces a murder charge with a special allegation that he used a gun to kill Jamal Andrews on the night of Jan. 24. He is found guilty of first-degree murder. A psychologist testifies that Norbury is diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, but did not meet the legal definition of insanity the night he shot Jamal Andrews.

? A man is hospitalized after being attacked by two people and a pit bull near Walmart.

? A marijuana raid by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration takes place at a Potter Valley property associated with relatives of sheriff's Capt. Randy Johnson. "No federal agency has given me any information that our employee was involved," says Sheriff Tom Allman.

? Ukiah Mayor Mary Anne Landis is hospitalized after falling while jogging on a trail near Lake Mendocino. Landis says she tripped on a root and "fell really, really hard," breaking three ribs and puncturing a lung.

November

? The Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House receives more than a half million dollars from the estate of former receptionist Artis Mary L. Spriggs, who died in 2010.

? Norm Hudson, the contractor hired by Palace Hotel owner Eladia Laines to oversee its restoration says that a 70-pound bronze sculpture of a cowboy on a bucking horse will be arriving at the hotel, courtesy of the Frederick Remington Museum in Ogdensburg, NY.

? The results of about two months of investigation, by marketing firm Z Group Communications, into the "essence" of Ukiah are revealed in the form of a new logo and slogan, "Far Out. Nearby", aimed at attracting visitors to the city and its surrounding valley. The new slogan is met with mixed reviews.

? A federal grand jury issues subpoenas to the Mendocino County Auditor-Controller's Office for records of funds paid to the county under its medical marijuana ordinance, County Code 9.31. The reason for the request is unclear as local and federal officials remain quiet regarding the subpoenas.

? The Community Development Commission of Mendocino County is awarded a $1 million grant from the state Department of Housing and Community Development Block Grant program to fund an economic study and help for small businesses and homebuyers.

December

? Billy Norbury is sentenced in Mendocino County Superior Court to spend 50 years to life in state prison for shooting and killing his Redwood Valley neighbor, Jamal Andrews.

? The Oak Manor neighborhood is flooded and several streets are closed in Ukiah after heavy rainfall causes a surge in the Russian River, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There are no extra releases from Lake Mendocino reported.

? An attempted child abduction is reported. A Yokayo Elementary student says a man tried to get her to leave with him after school.

? After minimal discussion and even less public comment, the Ukiah City Council unanimously approves a plan to have the Ukiah Fire Department stop providing ambulance services.

? The county of Mendocino hires a San Francisco attorney to help respond to federal subpoenas for records the county keeps on its medical marijuana ordinance, Chapter 9.31 of the Mendocino County Code.

? An internal affairs investigation clears sheriff's Capt. Randy Johnson, stating he was not involved in a marijuana grow on relatives' property and had no knowledge of it.

? A landslide takes a 20-foot wide, 30-foot deep chunk out of Highway 162 about a mile east of Highway 101 out from under a big rig driving over it, closing the highway and rerouting a limited stream of traffic to Dos Rios Road while authorities work to repair the hole. Caltrans announces that it intends to fill in the road, but a full repair will have to wait until 2013.